2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship (Jun 23-26)

[khalespace]

3 hours ago, agolf1 said:

Seems like In Gee's ball speed is still right around 140 mph or low 90s swing speed.  She seems to fly it about 220-230, which is the same as when she was winning her two other majors a while back.

 

Will be interesting to see if she sticks with the 7 wood / 9 wood combo over the 19H and 22H?  For moderate swing speed players, do give them a try.  Over the years I think the fairway designs have improved so the high lofted ones just fly high.  Before the mid-to-late part of the last decade, even at these swing speeds the high lofted fairways tended to spin like crazy.

 

Wie also used a 25 degree fairway over the hybrids...

Stats say Chun driving distance is 251 with 77% fairway hit.

[Cwebb]

25 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

The ping website has been updated to show In Gee's 9-wood details. 

 

https://ping.com/en-us/pros/lpga-tour/in-gee-chun

 

Ahh.  Effective lofts are 19 and 22*.  So to me, those are 5 and 7 wood lofts, despite what is stamped on the soles.  Still an interesting setup, with no "long fairway club" and an assumed big yardage gap between that 22* and her 6 iron

[mokedaddy]

13 minutes ago, Cwebb said:

Ahh.  Effective lofts are 19 and 22*.  So to me, those are 5 and 7 wood lofts, despite what is stamped on the soles.  Still an interesting setup, with no "long fairway club" and an assumed big yardage gap between that 22* and her 6 iron

Yeah I’m not sure what is up with that.  The witb that was posted listed 5-p, and a hybrid that aren’t posted on the Ping website.  
 

edit: Ping only lists ten clubs and it seems most agree the sand and lob wedges are Edel so it seems there are two mystery clubs.

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by mokedaddy

[HankScorpio]

Love that Lydia is able to laugh it off.  

 

[JungleJimbo]

1 hour ago, Cwebb said:

Ahh.  Effective lofts are 19 and 22*.  So to me, those are 5 and 7 wood lofts, despite what is stamped on the soles.  Still an interesting setup, with no "long fairway club" and an assumed big yardage gap between that 22* and her 6 iron

 

55 minutes ago, mokedaddy said:

Yeah I’m not sure what is up with that.  The witb that was posted listed 5-p, and a hybrid that aren’t posted on the Ping website.  
 

edit: Ping only lists ten clubs and it seems most agree the sand and lob wedges are Edel so it seems there are two mystery clubs.

 

 

Refer Getty Images.  Looks like a TM Stealth fairway wood? (perhaps a 3/4 wood?)

 

@mokedaddy; Yes the Edel wedges = 54* and 58*?
 

There was also a 22* g425 hybrid listed in InGee's WITB on the Ping website (as recently as last Friday i.e. 2-3 days ago?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-gee-chun-of-south-korea-plays-an-approach-shot-on-the-news-photo/1405263170?adppopup=true 

 

 

Quote:

Quote

 

"KPMG Women's PGA Championship - Final Round

BETHESDA, MARYLAND - JUNE 26: In Gee Chun of South Korea plays an approach shot on the ninth hole during the final round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club on June 26, 2022 in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)"

 

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by JungleJimbo

[sandpounder]

2 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

 

 

 

Quote:

Makes sense.  I would think they all play a long fairway wood.

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

 

[Titleist_PT23]

2 hours ago, Cwebb said:

I can't recall another major winner, whose next longest club after the driver was ~20* of loft.  Interesting setup for that course

I assume her 3 wood is non-PING, and that is why it's not listed.  In 2018, it was a Srixon.  

[Titleist_PT23]

2 hours ago, khalespace said:

Stats say Chun driving distance is 251 with 77% fairway hit.

I think the carry distance is accurate/ties out to the total; I've always thought LPGA is getting 20-25 yards of roll on average of the course of the season.  Obviously, any particular hole could be < 5 yards or 50 yards depending on elevation, slopes, and turf conditions.

[grm24]

18 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

I assume her 3 wood is non-PING, and that is why it's not listed.  In 2018, it was a Srixon.  

Her current 3/4 wood spot is definitely a TM Stealth.

 

[JungleJimbo]

Honest In Gee Shows Her True Self At KPMG Women’s PGA

lpga.com/news/2022/honest-in-gee-shows-her-true-self-at-kpmg-womens-pga

 

 

26 Jun 2022

Topic:

• In Gee Chun
• kpmg-womens-pga-championship
• Tournament News

 

 

Written By: Steve Eubanks jseubanks

Steve Eubanks is a New York Times bestselling author and managing editor for the LPGA.



BETHESDA, MARYLAND | They don’t come more honest, which is refreshing in any profession these days but extraordinary in sports. Ask athletes to share their innermost feelings about anything and you’re likely to get looks ranging from bewilderment to contempt. At a time when the world seems to live on Me Island and every sentence starts with “I,” athletes are notorious for speaking endlessly about themselves without saying anything at all.

Then there is our latest major champion, In Gee Chun, who captured the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship by a shot over her next-door neighbors in Irving, Texas, Minjee Lee, and Lexi Thompson. Unlike most 27-year-olds, Chun tells you everything. She is an open book – honest, earnest, intellectual, and the kind of gentle soul that makes you feel honored to know her.

Throughout the week, she was a breath of fresh air. Ask her about the course record 64 she shot on Thursday. “I’m so happy,” she said. Bring up the 75 she shot on Saturday, whittling a 7-shot lead down to three, and she said, “I have to put that aside and remember that I still have a lead and be happy with that.” Ask her about cooking for her neighbors, Minjee and Sei Young Kim, and she chuckles before saying, “I’m working on seasoning steak now.”

So, when she was asked on Sunday how it felt to blow a three-shot lead in the first four holes of the final round and make the turn having lost the lead for the first time since 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Chun pulled no punches.

“First nine holes I got a lot of pressure, so to be honest, I couldn't enjoy playing golf,” she said with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy by her side. “But I believed that if I stuck to my game plan and then I believed that I had a chance on the back nine. So, I tried to hang in there. I'm so happy I made it. My body still shaking, though.”

So was everyone else’s. Chun opened up such a commanding lead in the first 45 holes that it looked like this one would be a runaway. At one point on Saturday, she was 11-under par, a number no one saw coming at Congressional Country Club when the week began. But major venues have a way of biting back. Chun made a couple of sloppy swings late on Saturday and finished the day at 7-under par, three clear of Thompson and Hye-Jin Choi.

A 40 on the front nine on Sunday and it looked like this one had gotten away from her.

“So I want to tell truth,” Chun said afterward. “I couldn't control all the pressure. This is why I had four bogeys (on the front). At the same time, you know, this course is never easy. Congressional Country Club is a hard golf course, and we had tough pin positions. Sometimes my golf is not perfect. Today, it just happened to be (not perfect) on the front nine.”

Then she laughed and said, “Golf is never easy. Still, I can't believe I won. That's why I feel really emotionally now.”

In the mark of a champion, Chun battled back. She played the difficult last four holes 1-under par, which was enough for the win. 

“At the time, I thought ‘In Gee if you never give up, then you can get something. Just don't crack under pressure. Just keep doing what you’re doing. See the big picture. Keep going to catch your goal.’”

It has been a long road. Chun last won in 2018 at the HanaBank Championship in her home country of South Korea. Before that, she won majors in 2015 and 2016.

“When I got in a slump, some people said, ‘In Gee, you should retire because your game is not good right now.’ But no matter what they said, I believed that I could win again. I'm so proud now.”

She has always been open, even about some of the struggles she had earlier in her career with depression. When asked what this win meant, not just for her career but for her personal journey back, she became quite emotional.

“I'm happy because my sponsors, they always believed in me,” she said. “I know it's never easy, so I really appreciate all my sponsors. Then my family and my coach, my managers, my friends, they never gave up on me no matter how I did, so I really wanted to win the last couple of years.

“I really appreciate everyone. When I got in a slump, I really wanted to quit golf, but not because of them. I stuck with it. I kept playing. That's how I won this week. That’s why I’m so thankful.”

Thankful and honest. How refreshing.

[Rustbelt]

Congratulations to In Gee Chun.  She now has 3 different majors.  She has most majors by active players besides Karrie Webb and Inbee Park.  Amazingly, she has third most majors by Korean players with 3. 

[ChipDriver]

7 hours ago, Cwebb said:

Ahh.  Effective lofts are 19 and 22*.  So to me, those are 5 and 7 wood lofts, despite what is stamped on the soles.  Still an interesting setup, with no "long fairway club" and an assumed big yardage gap between that 22* and her 6 iron

It also appears that the shaft length is 42.25 which equates to a Ping 5 wood length; and in both clubs.   I've played a 7 wood with a 5 wood shaft for years...high long and straight. 

 

Same idea as a present day HeavenWood by Cally - around 20.5 loft with a 5 wood length shaft?   

[Argonne69]

11 hours ago, agolf1 said:

Also, can PING please put In Gee's name back on the main "Pros" webpage under LPGA?  Instead, they are going with Brooke (OK), Pernilla, and Azahara Munoz (possibly slower than In Gee, wonder if that got here the place)?

 

She's back on the Ping LPGA page.

 

https://ping.com/en-us/pros/lpga-tour

 

[Argonne69]

In Gee's driving distance tanked a few years ago, but it's back to where she was when she came on tour. I spoke with her coach two years ago, and he said her driver had too much spin. She was playing the G400 LST at the time, and even with the low spin head the ball was basically falling out of the air. With the G410 Plus she seems to have reduced the spin, and picked up the lost yardage.

 

[ChipDriver]

I don't root against anyone - and am glad for In Gee's win.  Impressive first 3 days, and she fought back on the 4th day and won the tournament.   She got some good luck at the end IMO - and she deserved it.  A worthy winner. 

 

That being said - if I'm honest - I was hoping for a playoff with Minjee and Lexi - and thought for a moment it was possible.   In Gee's last full swing - the ball very well could (should?) have gone off the green.  The lie of that fairway is down grade, and also sloping left...it is steeper than it appears on tv.   The play for that pin is to bounce it on the front of the green and let it roll down.  If you play it normal - the lie and lean of the fairway makes the ball come out lower and lefter.  Add to that, the green and pin position - if you don't hit the top level - you're usually off the green.   From the video it looks like she did not hit it cleanly and the ball landed on the down grade and bounced forward.  Somehow the spin caught the ball just in time - and saved it from going in.  Usually if it hits the grass - it's gone.  But luck counts and she played so well to fight back she deserved the luck IMO.   But for a moment there I thought Minjee might be back in it!    By the same token, maybe Lexi makes the putt... and if my uncle had boobs he'd be my aunt...!   Congrats to In Gee.  What I liked is her elegance and honesty afterwards.  I hope she keeps winning.

Edited June 27, 2022 by ChipDriver

[Titleist_PT23]

11 minutes ago, ChipDriver said:

I don't root against anyone - and am glad for In Gee's win.  Impressive first 3 days, and she fought back on the 4th day and won the tournament.   She got some good luck at the end IMO - and she deserved it.  A worthy winner. 

 

That being said - if I'm honest - I was hoping for a playoff with Minjee and Lexi - and thought for a moment it was possible.   In Gee's last full swing - the ball very well could (should?) have gone off the green.  The lie of that fairway is down grade, and also sloping left...it is steeper than it appears on tv.   The play for that pin is to bounce it on the front of the green and let it roll down.  If you play it normal - the lie and lean of the fairway makes the ball come out lower and lefter.  Add to that, the green and pin position - if you don't hit the top level - you're usually off the green.   From the video it looks like she did not hit it cleanly and the ball landed on the down grade and bounced forward.  Somehow the spin caught the ball just in time - and saved it from going in.  Usually if it hits the grass - it's gone.  But luck counts and she played so well to fight back she deserved the luck IMO.   But for a moment there I thought Minjee might be back in it!    By the same token, maybe Lexi makes the putt... and if my uncle had boobs he'd be my aunt...!   Congrats to In Gee.  What I liked is her elegance and honesty afterwards.  I hope she keeps winning.

Maybe things have changed a bit but I remember Tom Lehman's approach to what then was the 71st hole.  Not over the green but going left from the start...

[woahnelly]

1 hour ago, Rustbelt said:

Congratulations to In Gee Chun.  She now has 3 different majors.  She has most majors by active players besides Karrie Webb and Inbee Park.  Amazingly, she has third most majors by Korean players with 3. 

 

Would be dissapointing if both Lydia and Jin Young end up retiring with the same # of majors at Brittany Lincicome. 

[ChipDriver]

17 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

Maybe things have changed a bit but I remember Tom Lehman's approach to what then was the 71st hole.  Not over the green but going left from the start...

Yes.  Still just as downhill/left leaning lie as before...creates drama!  😞     

[jt2gt]

Calling In Gee lucky is like calling Lexi unlucky.  Pure class and grit from In Gee two putting from off the back for the win. 

[Argonne69]

It was nice to see Dean get his 2nd major win with In Gee. They make a good team. He was on her bag for her USWO victory. 

 

[Argonne69]

34 minutes ago, jt2gt said:

Calling In Gee lucky is like calling Lexi unlucky.  Pure class and grit from In Gee two putting from off the back for the win. 

 

In Gee played the back nine in one under par. Don't see how luck played into it. She made clutch putts when they were needed. 

 

[JungleJimbo]

This ~5min video provides a "spectators eye view" of R4 at the KPMG Women's PGA yesterday.

 

 

 

    
 

2nd video Link here ( https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6zMHLWHvIQ8 ) = In Gee's post-victory short video message in Korean to her fans (i see some of the Flying Dumbos in the video background).

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by JungleJimbo

[Cwebb]

41 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

In Gee played the back nine in one under par. Don't see how luck played into it. She made clutch putts when they were needed. 

 

Yeah, the approach shot on 18 was actually Un-lucky, in that hit the top/down slope of a small knob on the front of the green, which caused it to kick all the way to the back

[RainShadow]

17 hours ago, john myrbch said:

Bet her on what? That she could not break and still win?

Beat her is what I meant. 

[RainShadow]

I'm all for speeding up play, but why put the final group on the clock with 4 holes to play? In a Major?

Seems petty to me. 

And then to fine two of the three in the group after the round? What a joke.

They don't do this to the men.

Then rush the award ceremony to finish in their allotted TV time. After not showing the end of the round on Saturday?

The women get no respect and are constantly getting burned by the TV coverage....

 

 

[ChipDriver]

37 minutes ago, Cwebb said:

Yeah, the approach shot on 18 was actually Un-lucky, in that hit the top/down slope of a small knob on the front of the green, which caused it to kick all the way to the back

 

Agree.  It was lucky it checked, and stayed on the green.

 

In golf and life - your round(s)/tournament is comprised of ALL bounces - lucky, and unlucky...does anyone remember In Gee on 15 the day before???  LOL   If you win - it's earned, as well as deserved.   Well done In Gee.

 

[8602081]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

 

In Gee played the back nine in one under par. Don't see how luck played into it. She made clutch putts when they were needed. 

 

 

Congrats to Argonne69.. 

I'm sure you were giddy with joy..

😜

[mshills]

21 minutes ago, RainShadow said:

I'm all for speeding up play, but why put the final group on the clock with 4 holes to play? In a Major?

Seems petty to me. 

And then to fine two of the three in the group after the round? What a joke.

They don't do this to the men.

Then rush the award ceremony to finish in their allotted TV time. After not showing the end of the round on Saturday?

The women get no respect and are constantly getting burned by the TV coverage....

 

 

 

Agree totally.

 

The slow play clock and subsequent fines are absolutely bush-league.  Final group, final round of a major tournament just shows a lack of situational awareness from so many perspectives.

 

Then GolfWRX piles on with this cheap shot headline.  It's clickbait, and WRX is better than that.  Behavior?  What "behavior"?  Unwillingness to speak to the press and answer deep, meaningful questions like "explain to me how did you FEEL missing those putts"?

 

"Lexi Thompson’s behavior following Women’s PGA defeat sparks fierce debate"

[RainShadow]

7 minutes ago, mshills said:

 

Agree totally.

 

The slow play clock and subsequent fines are absolutely bush-league.  Final group, final round of a major tournament just shows a lack of situational awareness from so many perspectives.

 

Then GolfWRX piles on with this cheap shot headline.  It's clickbait, and WRX is better than that.  Behavior?  What "behavior"?  Unwillingness to speak to the press and answer deep, meaningful questions like "explain to me how did you FEEL missing those putts"?

 

"Lexi Thompson’s behavior following Women’s PGA defeat sparks fierce debate"

 This site has just become corporate shill site since their " Partnership" with the PGA Tour.

Too bad, it was more enjoyable before.

 

 

[Keyser Sфze]

I (internet golf expert watching from a recliner) thinks Lexi should try a super heavy more blade type putter at like 400 grams or something instead of super hot faced mallets to slow down her hands on twitchy short putts under pressure.    Cobra has a King Widesport putter that she should try right now.